Mr Monk Goes to the Park
by michael1812
Summary: Mr Monk and his unusual sidekick return to the scene of the crime. Crossover.


"You're no fun!" Chiana laughed, jumping from large rock to large rock.  
She was playing some sort of game in which she couldn't touch the ground.

The large stones surrounded the grassy area in the centre of the park where someone had been murdered previously that day.

"What do you mean?" The detective responded, pointing nervously at the crime scene with his hands, and continuing his actions as if he hadn't heard Chiana.

The detective, named Adrian Monk, stood in the shadow of a big, oak tree as he examined his surroundings; calmly and organized.  
He paced slowly across the piece of grass; his eyes glanced at everything.

He slowly brushed his brown suit with his hands before he took a deep breath.

Chiana's presence made him feel uneasy.

"Laugh a little!" Chiana spoke. "Have fun! Why are you so serious all the time?"

Monk waved her words away; he was trying to focus on the details of the crime-scene.

"So, have you figured it out yet?" Chiana said to him, changing the subject and laughing as she jumped from rock to rock; she even balanced herself on top of a tree's stump for a few seconds.

"Stop doing that," Adrian Monk spoke softly.

"Stop what?" Chiana asked.  
She leaped to the other large, grey rock without breaking a sweat.  
Monk waved his hands about frantically as he nervously tried to make her clear what was bugging him.

"What?" Chiana asked, "This?"  
She jumped to the other rock again with an athletic grace.  
Her white hair was dancing in the wind.

"Yes!" Monk spoke nervously, "That!"

"Is it bugging you?" Chiana jumped again.

"Yes, it is!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Chiana said.

"Stop it!" Monk looked away.  
He was unable to think, unable to see what he was searching for, the details which were eluding him, always.  
Inspiration wouldn't come to him, not while Chiana was around.

"What are you going to do about it, huh?" Chiana yelled.  
She was teasing him.

"Stop it," Monk muttered.

"Make me!" Chiana said as she jumped in front of him. "Come on! Stop being such a softie for a change!"

"I can't… I'm not… I mean,' he muttered angrily, "Just stop it, okay!"

Chiana laughed after he had freaked out.

"Well, that's a start." Chiana jumped in front of him, teasing him with her smile.

"Look, Karen,' Monk spoke, but he was quickly interrupted.

"Chiana!" the white Nebari girl corrected him.

"Chiana," he said.  
The fact that he had called her by the wrong name now immediately haunted Monk.  
His hands started trembling again, and he instinctively started to brush them, wipe them, against his brown suit.

"I don't think you're the right person for this job," Monk swallowed and feared her next response.

"What?" Chiana asked.

Monk couldn't look at her.  
He started to pace around nervously. In his mind he counted his steps and listened to the wind which howled through the green, blossoming trees.  
Then he started to count the large, grey rocks before he evaded the empty place in the grass where a dead man had once been found.  
With half the grace of a professional ballet dancer, Monk leaped over the dead space in the grass.  
Then he counted all of the trampled bits in the grass, all of the scratches in the trees and broken twigs in the grass, all the buildings he could see through the trees, all the cyclists in the park…

"I'm considering…" Monk said uneasily, glancing only once at the Nebari girl, '…firing you.'  
Chiana couldn't believe her ears.

"WHAT?" Chiana yelled. "You…you can't fire me; I don't even work for you!"

"I know…" Monk muttered; he still couldn't look at her. "It's just that..."

"I approached you, remember?!" Chiana went on, furiously. "I'm an eye witness! I'm the prime suspect! I was the intended target! I AM this case! You can't fire me!"

Monk didn't know what to do with himself. All he knew was that he could not look straight at Chiana or look into her eyes. He made erratic gestures with his hand as he prepared to explain himself to her, but his feet wouldn't stop moving and his heart wouldn't stop beating inside his chest.

Chiana cursed at him and even threatened Monk with some strange weapon, and being afraid, he raised his hands in the air.

"I'm sorry," Monk said to her, feeling uneasy whenever Chiana came near him.

She was chaotic, unpredictable and loud, but there was a desperation and sadness in Chiana's voice that now haunted his mind.  
Did she fear rejection, or did she fear being alone?

Adrian Monk had many fears; he wouldn't be able to count them all on his two hands if he had to.  
He knew how she felt, and somehow everything made sense.  
He understood her more, and with that extra bit of knowledge, he was less afraid of her wild, unpredictable nature.

"You're supposed to be the best detective in San Francisco!" Chiana yelled violently.

"I'm sorry," Monk repeated.

He backed away and had to partially close his eyes when he stepped out of the shadow and sunlight hit his face.

"Act like one, for frell's sake!" Chiana continued, desperately. "I'm not going to any Earth prison!"

The sunlight blinded him, but he looked at Chiana nonetheless.

Then it hit him.

Monk glanced one final time at the sun, blinding himself intentionally to confirm his thoughts.

Chiana stopped her tantrum as she noticed this, and she smiled slightly at seeing Monk's arms, which he still hadn't lowered, even though Chiana had put her weapon away ages ago.

"What?" Chiana asked.

Monk retraced his steps, stepping out of the shadow, glancing at the entrance to this opening in the park and he stepped back into the sun again.

"What?" Chiana asked again, angry and annoyed, but curious.

A blissful smile appeared on Adrian Monk's face. His eyes seemed to twinkle in excitement.

"I just solved the case." Monk said softly.


End file.
